Morning again everyone, have to extend my R&S break for another while, short of time these mornings, but we’ll be updating through the day. So, as ever, if you have any links you’d like to share, please post them in the comments – thank yooooou!

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On This Day

President Barack Obama in Rochester, August 18, 2012 ( Photograph by Scout Tufankjian)

President Barack Obama in Manchester, August 18, 2012 (Photograph by Scout Tufankjian)

I am eternally grateful to you and NW and the BTs for keeping us up to date and abreast of all the events in Ferguson….

my heart is heavy but my spirit is strong and determined…

i am inspired by the courage of the people of Ferguson…and i think what can i do….voter registration is what i can do…encouraging folks to be active organized citizens…to not be cynical…to keep hope alive…

Whatever Obama announces when it comes to executive action to ease deportations, Republicans will claim he is basically shredding the Constitution into kindling to light a fire under the Dem base in advance of the 2014 elections. But what if the White House can build a coalition behind coming actions that would allow Dems to portray them as an effort to solve problems for multiple constituencies, including GOP-aligned ones?

The other day, I reported that Dems were eying the possibility of enlisting business, agricultural, and tech interests who might want changes to the visa system as part of whatever Obama proposes. These changes could be accomplished administratively, along with action on deportations.

Today Politico reports that discussions are underway over broadening the executive actions to win over those interests:

Yes, as long as they are seen as peace keepers and don’t automatically side with the police.

I know people like to see what is happening in Ferguson as clear cut, and to some degree it is. Something happened, the killing of Mike Brown which triggered a reaction. The police definitely overreacted to that.

The killing of Brown was definitely unjustified, but we are still learning details of what happened that day, and will probably never fully understand or know all the details.

The police definitely overreacted. But to some degree, that is because of the general societal attitudes that have developed over the years.

When I was much younger, the police were considered friends. Now, many people view them as a necessary evil. Part of that is brought on by the police itself, some of it is brought on by an attitude of the public at large.

On top of all that (because what I have discussed so far is not dependent on this issue) is the racial animus involved. This has increased (at least in terms of public exposure) a great deal in recent years and is now at the boiling point.

What is happening is that both sides to a degree (more so on the police side) are reacting in ways to justify (not really) the prejusdices of the other side. This ratchets up the reactions on both sides as well.

The story of the looting reminds me of post-Katrina reactions. When newstories talked about what was happening in the AA community, words such as looting were commonly used. But when whites were seen doing some of the same things, looting was not used. The behavior was such as to just survive.

It would be really nice to just tie everything up in a neat bundle and state this is exactly what it is all about. We can’t and I wonder if we ever will.

EXACTLY! All these other stuff are distractions, side issues that do not advance the goal of getting an arrest and (hopefully) a conviction and sentencing for the murder of an unarmed teen. Right now people should be focused on the results of the preliminary autopsy – not what some celebrity by the name of “Keke” was or wasn’t doing in Ferguson last night.

Exactly – the media loves to muddy the waters (as they did in the Zimmerman case) by keeping the focus OFF the actual incident and the one(s) responsible for the death of the victim. Trying to generate sympathy for a killer cop who does not deserve it while amplifying images of the Ferguson residents as looters/thugs/rioters, etc..

At this point, I don’t need to know whether or not Capt Johnson is a figurehead, or whether Chris Hayes was teargassed, or whether the National Guard is going to be brought in. We need to know what happened at the time of the shooting, where Darren Wilson is, and what charges are going to be brought.

All these other things are all taking attention away from seeing that justice is swiftly and properly served to Mike Brown and his family.

Retweeted by Goldie Taylor
Bipartisan Report @Bipartisanism · 9h
Autopsy expert on CNN says shots that hit inside of arm and hand are consistent with a man with arms up in style of surrendering. #Ferguson

Well…so it the shot to the top of his head…the kid was a tree for goodness sakes…very tall. How does a shorter man hit the top of this kid’s head? Was there a ladder for him to use waiting in the street?

Even Dr. Baden said that the head shot could have happened if Brown was charging at the cop. But he was EXTREMELY clear that it could have been while he was already subdued (which goes with witness accounts), and that he was not laying blame.

These are incidental issues. We need to not take the media’s bait of making this about Nixon vs Obama, or Capt Johnson, etc. This is about a killer cop who needs to be arrested and convicted. Anything else is a distraction.

This exactly what happened in Oakland, CA when folks were protesting re Oscar Grant’s murder! I believe this is what Captain Johnson was really talking about when he said the actions of some were planned.